I spent a month at Pé’s place and was very comfortable and would recommend it. It felt like home very quickly. I was very content and would stay again. Looking back at the things I appreciated most and least about my stay, I would say the proximity to the BTS station and the traffic noise, respectively. Here is a very detailed review: :)
Host: Pé was very responsive. It was a pleasure interacting with him. One evening the microwave stopped heating things, and within minutes of me informing him, he responded that he would bring a new one the next day. (Fortunately, the microwave was fine the next morning and I had no problems after that.)
Location: The condo is in a non-touristy part of town, but those parts are easily reachable. There is a BTS station a three minute walk from the building, which I found to be a huge benefit. The apartment is located on a major road, which has its advantages and disadvantages. (My friends were constantly getting stuck in bridge traffic when they came to pick me up.) There are several convenience stores within a few minutes walk (including a 7-11 just around the corner.) You can walk to a Tops grocery store within 15 minutes and a Big C (Bangkok’s version of Walmart) within 25 minutes. And you can always take the BTS or a car. There are food stalls and restaurants within a block--I haven’t tried any of them.
Light: The condo was well lit during the day. The sun only shines directly in the windows during the early morning, so the light is not too intense.
Cleanliness: Spotlessly clean.
Maintenance: The place seems well maintained and new.
View: Great view. There are tall buildings around, but they don’t block the view. If you look from the balcony, you can see several temples, as well as tons of skyscrapers.
Noise: Other than the occasional sound of a door closing in the hallway, I didn’t hear a sound from any of the neighbors. There is a major road and a BTS line running just in front of the building, so traffic noise is an issue. With the windows and doors closed, it is a constant hum, with the balcony door open, it is quite loud. It generally wasn’t bad during sleeping hours, but I usually sleep with white noise playing anyway. I would say traffic noise is the biggest negative of the place.
Bathroom: Small, but functional. The shower is fully enclosed, so there isn’t water everywhere as in some Thai places. The shower has a rain head and another showerhead on a hose. The pressure was good. Hot water seemed fine. Very clean. Only two towels, currently.
Kitchen: There is a microwave, stovetop, rice cooker, and kettle. While there isn’t a lot of counter space, there was enough to do real cooking. The cookware is sufficient to do simple meals, but I got a bigger pot for some of my larger cooking projects. The stovetop works fine, but Pé warned me that the display was messed up--you can’t see what the current setting is, so I just remembered to hit “+” five times after turning it on for high heat and three times for low heat. Being a westerner, I really missed having an oven. (Note that I have only seen one Thai home that has an oven, and that house was specifically designed for westerners, so I can’t fault this place for not having an oven.)
Bedroom: The bed was comfortable--a bit on the firm side. There is only one set of bed linens, so if you wash it, make sure it is dry before bed time. The closet was sufficient for one person, but might be tight for two people. I suspect more hangers would be needed and you would likely need to take advantage of the drawer space built into the bed platform.
Living room: The couch was comfortable and was where I spent most of my day. It is not quite long enough to stretch out on. There is a TV but I never used it. Like most Bangkok condos, the living room is quite small.
Air conditioning: Both the living room and the bedroom unit worked fine.
Wifi: Wifi was fast and reliable the entire time.
Clothes washing: The washer works fine, and was a great convenience. Detergent and fabric softener were provided. There is also a clothes iron. There is only a small rack on the balcony for drying. (I strung up a bit of clothes line that I always carry with me.) There is also a coin-operated clothes dryer by the pool (as well as a few washing machines.)
Gym: The gym is reasonably well-equipped. There is a set of dumbbells, a couple of weight benches, 3 exercise bikes, 2 ellipticals, 3 treadmills, a bench press machine, a lat pulldown/seated row machine, and a captain’s chair with a dip station. I used it mid-morning and I never saw more than two other people there--usually zero or one.
Pool: The pool seemed very nice and well maintained, but I never used it. The deck area is rather small, but since I rarely saw anyone there, I doubt that that matters. Note that it looks over the main road, so not exactly an island of tranquility. There is a changing room next to the pool, but it doesn’t look like towels are provided.